Between the Lines
by ShortySC22
Summary: Shizuki and Julia begin a friendship hidden from everyone. Will they still just be friends or will it develop into more?
1. A Deal

A/N: I'd like to thank my beta Hiroshikata for being extremely patient with me.

Disclaimer: I do not Hana Kimi. That belongs to Hisaya Nakajo.

Thoughts of Mizuki flew through her older brother's head. When he had come home and discovered her gone, he was disappointed. After all, he was her older brother and he was away at college. He thought that she would respect him a little more and tell him she was leaving. But, he couldn't stay disapointed at his baby sister. When he had finally recieved a letter from her, she sounded happy, so he had no choice but to seem happy for her.

Halfway up the driveway, he paused when he heard loud noises coming from the neighbor's yard. Fearing the worse, he ran into the backyard, quickly opening and closing the gate to the fence. He peered over the fence, only to find Julia, Mizuki's best friend, singing loudly to music. "Julia was the one making the awful noises," he thought, but ended up saying aloud.

Not realizing anyone was around until Shizuki spoke up, Julia immediately stopped singing and stalked over to the fence.

"Are you saying I'm a bad singer, even though you know I have won many contests with this very same voice!" she shrieked over the fence, standing with her hands on her hips and an annoyed grin on her face. Julia had started performing at young age and began taking voice lessons at a young age, which Shizuki had to hear about constantly from Mizuki, who was always bragging about her friend.

Shizuki's cheeks flushed red and he didn't know what to say. Girls were so temperamental, the wrong thing could set them off and he would be the one to live with the consequences. The last thing he needed right now was an angry Julia for a neighbor, especially since Mizuki tended to call Julia more often than she called him.

"I didn't mean it, I swear. It's probably just the original singer or the recording you have," he stammered out, trying to make it sound like an apology.

"That's not true. This has been digitally remastered from the original. Nothing's going to get you out of this one. I guess I'll just have to tell Mizuki all about what you did and all the horrible things you've done since she's been gone!" Julia shouted back, before letting an evil grin settle on her face. She knew how much Shizuki adored his little sister and if Mizuki was mad at him, it would just about kill him. He'd do anything to make Mizuki happy, as obvious by the fact that he allowed her to stay in Japan when he really wanted her home.

"What is the name of the song anyways? It sounds old. And don't you dare tell Mizuki anything," Shizuki pleaded.

"If you don't want me to tell Mizuki, it's going to cost you. Oh, the song is a classic called 'It's In His Kiss'. I have an outdoor performance and I need to practice these kinds of acoustics," Julia added knowing Shizuki would agree to her requests. As an afterthought, Julia added quietly, "You should know the song, after all, you're ancient."

"Fine, fine. What's it going to cost me?" he sighed as he turned around to look in his wallet, knowing there would be something involving money. He did not expect her first request.

"Oh it's quite simple. All you have to do is show up to the performance. It's going to be held at the town park this Saturday. I'm performing around eight, so don't be late!" With that, Julia turned around, walked away from the fence, headed into her house, and slammed the door shut.

Shizuki slid down the fence, leaning against it as he thought about her request. It was a simple request, considering she could have demanded a lot more from him. She could have demanded dinner, money, or worse. Shizuki didn't want to think about his little sister's friend like that, but she was a beautiful girl, even if she was a lot younger than him. Wait, why did that even cross his mind? He shook his head and headed inside his own house, trying to think what he was doing Saturday night. He hadn't had a date in ages because he was overwhelmed with being an intern.

Settling into the most comfortable chair in the house, he though back to his last date, where the girl told him he looked spacey and that he needed more sleep. He apologized profusely, but never saw the girl again. That was almost two months ago, he realized. Sure, girls had approached him, but none of them were his type. Most were just interested in his looks, but he wanted a girl who was more entertaining to talk to than look at. Looks change more easily than a personality, he reasoned.

Why was he even worried about a girlfriend now? She had just asked him to watch her perform, right? There were no other conditions. Maybe he could also convince her to talk Mizuki into coming home. Sure, he had just visited her in Japan, but he missed his baby sister, though he supposed he should be used to it by now, she had run off once before and ended up quite far from home. As the older brother, he had to go rescue her, lecture her, and then give her a brief hug. That was the job of the older brother and he hated being useless and having to go through Julia.

Julia flopped down onto her bed, wondering why she had even asked Shizuki to go watch her perform. It wasn't a big event, just something the town was putting on for the senior citizens of the community. She could have asked for a ridiculous number of things, including ice cream which she had been craving. Her particular favorite was any kind of ice cream with cookie dough, but she only ordered it on special occasions. Well this was a special occasion, wasn't it? Shizuki was paying attention to her, even if it was only because she had threatened to tell his precious little sister, oh that Mizuki! If only that fence hadn't been her in way, Julia probably would have punched Shizuki, but the fence protected both of them. Now she would at least have someone in the audience cheering for her besides her boyfriend Matt.

A/N Thank you for reading and please review.


	2. A Night Out

A/N: Thank you to my beta Hiroshikata. I don't know what I would have done on this chapter without you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi, that belongs to Hisaya Nakajo and Viz in the States.

Saturday arrived sooner than Shizuki would have liked and he had no idea what this little concert was about. All he knew was that he had promised Julia he would go or else she would call Mizuki. A fight with Mizuki while she was in Japan was the last thing he needed right now. As 7:30 approached, he figured he should leave and show up early because she had said she was performing around 8. The park was a fifteen minute walk from his house, so he quickly grabbed a light jacket and hat before heading out the door.

When Shizuki arrived at the park he realized why Julia was singing that old song. There could not have been anyone besides himself under the age of 50 in the entire audience. Reminding himself why he was even at the concert, he found a bench a bit of a distance away from the main crowd and sat down. On the bench next to him was a young couple who was definitely there to simply get away from their parents.

"Young people these days do not know how to keep their hands to themselves," an elderly lady remarked as she walked by.

"Really, kissing in public should not be allowed. I have no desire to see that," her friend added.

Shizuki silently agreed with the ladies. Not that there was anything wrong with cuddling or holding hands, but the couple next to him were all over each other. At this point, he stared at his watch, trying to figure out how much longer before Julia took the stage. Five minutes later, he glanced up and in the process his mouth dropped open from shock.

Julia was on stage, dressed like a singer out the 1950s. Everything about her screamed retro and she magnificently pulled it off. He couldn't believe that was the same girl who was singing the other night. Even her voice sounded more mature and elegant than the other night. She must really have been practicing for the acoustics, he thought.

After singing several classic hits, Julia stepped off the small stage. She had seen Shizuki off to the side and knew it was because he had no idea that this concert was for the local senior citizens. She scanned the crowd once more to look for her boyfriend Matt before heading over to where Shizuki was standing.

"Hey, I'm glad you could make it," Julia said with a bright smile. She was genuinely glad that Shizuki had shown up unlike her boyfriend who was almost more trouble than he was worth. This was not the first time he had promised her something and failed to deliver his promise. She would have to remember that next time. Granted, she had only been dating Matt for about a month, but it still upset her. Seeing how Shizuki actually bothered to show up, she thought she should pay closer attention to what he was saying.

"You were amazing. It was well worth it to see you perform," Shizuki added earnestly. She captivated his attention, as well as the audience while she sang with her perfect voice.

"You're just saying that because I made you come and you're sucking up to me," Julia retorted. Why else would he compliment her so much? He probably just wanted her to say something to Mizuki, maybe to write him or call him more often.

"No, that's not it at all. I think you're a really good singer. The practice definitely paid off."

Julia blushed at that. She stared into his eyes, wondering what his motives could be for saying all these compliments to her. Changing the subject quickly to distract her mind from thinking of Shizuki too much, she asked if he had seen Matt.

"Matt? Matt who?" Shizuki questioned. Obviously something was bothering her by the way she changed the subject and her voiced dropped.

"My boyfriend. He said he was going to come and then we'd go out," Julia added with a little sniffle. Another promise made, another one broken. She had been hoping to go out for ice cream tonight, craving her favorite cookie dough flavor.

"I haven't seen anyone under the age of 50," Shizuki replied, leaving out the fact that he saw a couple making out when he first arrived at the park. He hadn't even realized she had a boyfriend, though it probably shouldn't have surprised him. Thinking back, he remembered seeing one boy in particular hanging around Julia and Mizuki. The same boy whom had been making out earlier on the park bench. Deciding to change the subject, he asked Julia if she wanted some ice cream, his treat.

"No, it's not necessary. I think I'll head home now," Julia responded, not quite sure why she turned down a chance to eat ice cream without paying.

"At least let me walk you home then. We live next to each other after all." He knew something was wrong by the way Julia spoke. Mizuki used to tell him how Julia would get very polite when she was sad and there was nothing Mizuki could ever do to cheer up her friend.

Julia started to walk home and Shizuki kept right up with her. He had no idea why she wasn't talking but he wasn't going to initiate conversation if she didn't want to talk. It was easy to see why Mizuki and Julia got along so well, he thought. Everything about Julia complimented Mizuki perfectly. 'Mizuki,' Shizuki thought, 'I miss you, but for some reason, the loneliness isn't so bad tonight.' Soon they reached their houses and it was time to say good-bye.

"Thank you for walking me home, I appreciate it," Julia said solemnly. She started to head up the walkway when Shizuki called out.

"The offer for ice cream still stands. Have a good night, Julia," he shouted before heading inside.

With that last comment, Julia thought about her boyfriend and how he had broken a promise to her today. He was the one who was supposed to show to the performance. He was the one who was supposed to take her out for ice cream. He was the one who was supposed to walk her home. It was not supposed to be her best friend's older brother, who seemed perfect in every way. Shizuki didn't have to offer to take her out for ice cream. He didn't have to offer to walk her home and then actually follow through and walk her home. He didn't have to offer to take her out to ice cream still and he certainly didn't have to wish her a good night. Thinking back, she remembered how much she always liked playing with Mizuki as a child because Shizuki would always be there. Especially their favorite game, Princess in Distress. Julia was always the princess with Shizuki being the prince who would save her from the Mizuki dragon. Even though sometimes it was Mizuki that needed to be rescued from the evil Tree of Doom, as they had named it, he would always save Julia first before helping his sister. Julia gasped.

"Am I falling for my best friend's older brother?" she whispered in a shocked voice. "No, it couldn't be. But I certainly did have a good night after all," she added even quieter to herself.

A/N: Thank you for reading and please review.


	3. A Little Help

A/N: I'd like to thank my amazing beta Hiroshikata.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi, it belongs to Hisaya Nakajo. I'm just playing in the universe.

Julia was not sure why she had ever decided to take physics. It was a hard class that would look good for her college applications, but if she didn't pass the class, it wouldn't matter anyways. There were so many formulas to remember and on top of all of the formulas to memorize, there were all of the various units. Every single formula had so many different units and she knew she had to be careful not get them all mixed up. Sighing, she threw the homework off the desk and stormed outside to clear her mind for a minute. Who could she ask to help her with this ridiculous physics homework? She hardly knew anyone in her class, most of them were not social anyways. Matt was in her class but he would belittle her if she went to him anyways. After the incident with the concert yesterday, she still had not spoken to Matt. She thought if she spoke to him now she would just end up making herself more upset and focusing on the physics homework was the most important thing on her mind right now.

Mizuki used to say Shizuki tutored her in school. Julia thought he'd be perfect since she knew one of the requirements for the MCATs was two semesters of physics. He had also said if she had needed anything, he'd help out. Now would be the perfect chance.

Not hesitating to call, Julia was disappointed when she reached his voicemail, but did leave a message telling him to call her back as soon as possible and if he wouldn't mind helping her with her dreadful physics homework. With the awkward voicemail over, she settled into the couch to read.

After finishing the book, Julia attempted her physics homework again, but only managed to confuse herself more. Glancing at the bookcases, she pulled one of the old photo albums out and started to flip through it, reminiscing of her days in elementary school with Mizuki. They had gone to the same elementary school but Julia's parents wanted her to go to a private school for middle school and their friendship suffered. Before Mizuki left for Japan, they regained the friendship they once had and Julia regretted the fact that their friendship had dwindled as she flipped through the photo album. Pictures of her and Mizuki during Christmas, all dressed up in fancy dresses, getting ready to sit on Santa's lap. Pictures of Halloween where they would try and dress up in similar costumes. Like the one year where they were both Power Rangers or the year they were both Disney princesses. Julia paused at one picture. Her parents had thrown a neighborhood bash when she was little, maybe five or six. She and Mizuki were running back and forth through the sprinkler while Shizuki held another hose and was spraying them. She smiled at the memory. Before she could get too lost in the past, the phone rang, shaking her thoughts of Mizuki and Shizuki.

"Hello, Julia speaking," she answered the phone politely, not bothering to see who had called.

"Hey Julia, it's Shizuki. You said you needed help with physics?" Shizuki asked.

"Y-yes," Julia responded hesitantly, not as confident as she usually was.

"Are you busy now?"

"No."

"Well, if you want, I can come over and help you for an hour or two. What are you studying anyway?"

"Simple harmonic motion. I'm mostly confused with all the units and why sometimes you'll use kHz and sometimes you'll use radians per second," she responded softly.

"You're in luck! I just happen to be good at that. So I'll be over in fifteen minutes, is that good?"

"That's fine. See you in a bit," she added before quickly hanging up. Why was she so nervous on the phone with him? Now she had other things to worry about. She had to make sure the house was in order and not to give the wrong impression. As she was running about picking up papers, she stopped and wondered why she was doing any of this. Calmly, she straightened up the newspaper and put her physics notes and homework on the desk and sat down, waiting for the doorbell to ring.

Shortly after she sat down, the doorbell rang and she raced to the door to open it. 'Focus,' she thought. 'The homework is due tomorrow and you need this grade,' she reminded herself. Without giving Shizuki a chance to say anything after she opened the door, she grabbed his hand and led him to her desk in the study.

"Here it is. I have no idea how to even start this problem," she said with confidence. At the same moment, she grabbed the pencil to write down what she did know about the problem, he had also grabbed the pencil. Immediately she pulled her hand back and avoided looking at Shizuki's face.

Shizuki stared at the problem for a little while before figuring out where she had gone wrong in her approach. He began to explain how sometimes the variables need to be left in until the very end and started jotting equations furiously on her paper. Leaning back for a minute, Shizuki stretched out his feet, accidently kicking Julia. Embarassed, Shizuki lowered his head and muttered an apology, which Julia waved off, pointing back to the problem, finally understand some of the concepts of physics.

As fast as Shizuki was explaining it to her, she understood all of it. Why had her teacher never thought of explaining the problem this way? The homework problems were finished faster than Julia had thought was possible and by the end she didn't even need Shizuki's help, though she asked him to check over her work.

"Perfect work!" Shizuki shouted. The words had barely left his mouth when Julia jumped up and hugged him, before she had realized what she had done.

"Sorry," she apologized meekly.

"Don't be sorry. You should be proud of yourself for getting them right," Shizuki added with a smile.

"It's all thanks to you."

"Anytime you need help. How about as a reward for doing so well, I make good on that promise and we go grab some ice cream?" Shizuki asked, as his stomach grumbled.

"Sorry to disappoint you, I have other homework, but I really appreciate the help. How about we go for ice cream Friday, this way I won't have to worry about homework?" Julia said, even though she just didn't know how to tell Shizuki that she didn't want ice cream now.

"It's fine. I'll see you around," Shizuki waved as he walked out the door.

Settling back into the couch, Julia flipped through the channels. 'Never Been Kissed' was on, but she never really enjoyed that movie. 'Ah,' she thought, 'Law & Order, a perfect way to end the night.'

A/N: Thank you for reading and please review.


	4. Ice Cream

A/N-I'd like to thank my beta Hiroshikata for being patient with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi

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For Shizuki Friday couldn't come soon enough. Friday was always his favorite day of the week, but this week was special. He hadn't an evening out where he could just relax and be himself in a long time, especially with the added benefit of ice cream. Usually when he went out there was a specific purpose and he would have to watch exactly what he said very carefully. Ice cream you bought in the stores was never the same as when you got it from an ice cream parlor. Especially one of the fancy ones that just opened in town, where they mix in toppings. Before he even going to Julia's house, he decided he'd let her pick which ice cream place she wanted to go to.

Promptly at eight o'clock, Shizuki rang Julia's doorbell, not expecting her father to answer.

"Hello Mr. Thompson. Is Julia here?" Shizuki asked, trying not to make it sound like he was taking Julia out on a date. Because that was the farthest thing from his mind at this point. Right now was all about having a good time.

"She should be in her room. Why don't you wait here while I get her?" her father pointed to the bench in the hallway, but Shizuki decided to remain standing, looking the family pictures that were hanging in the hallway. Some of the pictures he remembered, since Mizuki was in a few. Wandering a little further down the hallway, he found one with him. He was in the center, grinning wildly as he held Mizuki in one arm and Julia in the other. He had probably been about twelve at the time, with Mizuki and Julia about five. At that moment, Julia walked out and called his name.

"You remember that day?" Julia asked, noticing which picture he had been staring at.

"Of course. The two of you had an endless supply of energy and I was chasing you for hours. Ready for some ice cream?" he questioned, just his stomach grumbled.

"Let me just say good-bye to my father," Julia answered and as she turned around, her father appeared out of almost nowhere. "Dad! You scared me."

"Have fun and be home before midnight," he said before kissing her on the forehead.

"I doubt we'll be that late," Shizuki responded as he held the door open for Julia and walked out into the night.

Julia didn't know how to take tonight. Shizuki had asked her out for ice cream, but he was her best friend's older brother and he had also asked to cheer her up that night since her boyfriend had abandoned her. She would have to have a talk with Matt soon. This past week they had barely spoken, but again, they both had several major assignments. After all, he hadn't tried to contact her, but she also didn't try to contact him.

As they started to walk towards downtown, where it would be easy to find a good place to get ice cream, Shizuki turned towards Julia and grabbed her hand, motioning her to stop. Julia pulled her hand back after feeling a shock.

"I thought you'd like to pick which ice cream place we went to. So your choice, what'll it be?" Shizuki asked with a grin on his face, as though he was a game show host announcing the prize choices.

"You're letting me choose?" Julia asked, surprised Shizuki was even thinking about her. When Matt had taken her out, he had chosen when and where they would go. Shizuki was letting Julia make all the choices and it was a welcome change.

"Of course. I can go out for ice cream by myself anytime I want. It's not all the time a pretty girl says yes," Shizuki smirked.

"How about Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe? I love their mint chocolate chip," Julia said, taking the lead.

"I'm partial to their butter pecan with caramel sauce. Mostly I just love the spinning chairs at the counter," Shizuki answered.

"Well maybe we'll just have to sit at a booth to ruin your fun," Julia added with a smirk before she remembered a story Mizuki had told her. Apparently when Mizuki was really young, their father had taken them out for ice cream to celebrate and Shizuki had been so excited, he could barely sit still in his seat. Eventually Shizuki fell out of the seat and when Julia remembered how the story ended, she burst out laughing.

"Come on now, I know my face is funny looking, but it can't be that funny. What's got you laughing so hard?" Shizuki questioned, thinking hard about what made people laugh so hard so fast, without any prompts.

"Mizuki told me a story about the time you fell off one of the spinning chairs because you had been so excited," Julia answered between all of her giggling.

"I was ten, it was an accident," Shizuki replied, though he now knew why she was laughing so hard. Mizuki loved to tell that story and when Mizuki told a story, she really got into the story. He could just imagine all of the wild hand motions and acrobatics she would have used to tell Julia the story, even though Mizuki was really young when it happened.

"Doesn't matter now, I'm just looking forward to some good ice cream."

Once inside Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe, Shizuki ordered for both of them, knowing exactly what Julia wanted. Lightly, Julia smacked Shizuki's arm

"What was that for?" Shizuki asked, rubbing his arm.

"I can order for myself, thank you very much."

"After all that talk about mint chocolate chip ice cream, I just assumed you would have wanted some."

"I did and still do, but I still have a voice and am quite capable of using it.

"I'll remember that in the future, but here's your ice cream now, unless you don't want it."

After grabbing her ice cream, Julia sat down in a booth to purposely annoy Shizuki, knowing how badly he liked the spinning chairs at the counter. An awkward pause followed as neither really knew what to say. One common ground they had was Mizuki but it was hard to talk about her because Shizuki always missed her more after talking about her. First he'd get angry because Mizuki was so reckless and then he would go into older brother mode, where he would want chase after her again, knowing that she was at an all boy's school. After staring at his ice cream and slowly eating it, Shizuki finally decided to speak.

"I'm glad you picked this place. Mizuki would rather have ice cream with her cookie dough and strawberries all mixed in," Shizuki said, deciding talk about Mizuki was always a safe bet.

"I just love ice cream in general, but I know better than to eat too much, so this is a real treat for me. Thank you," Julia said politely.

"Hey anytime! Next time we should check out the arcade down the road. I've recently gotten addicted to Dance Dance Revolution, and playing at home is never the same as playing in the arcade," Shizuki said with a grin.

"I've never played it before," Julia started before Shizuki interrupted.

"It's really quite easy," he added, realizing now that they had both finished their ice creams, he cleaned up the table and headed out to the street. Walking along slowly, he continued, "If you want, we can play some at home until you get better at it."

"I'd love to, since it's still really early."

"That's because ice cream doesn't take long to eat."

Walking besides Julia, Shizuki was tempted to reach for her hand as the wind blew past, like a gentle kiss to the cheek. He could not have been happier. It was Friday, which was always good day. Then he got to have some of his favorite ice cream and now he had an evening of Dance Dance Revolution planned. He was certainly in a good mood and it was all thanks to the young lady walking silently beside him.

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A/N: Thank you for reading and please review.


	5. Dance, Dance

A/N: I'd like to thank my beta Hiroshikata.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

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Julia had certainly heard of Dance Dance Revolution but had never had the opportunity to play the game. She never wanted to play in the arcade because she thought she might embarrass herself and most of her friends didn't play video games. Mizuki said she had tried to play it once and dragged Julia to arcade to watch some guys play but Mizuki had said she was a little too clumsy to play it on a regular basis. The way Shizuki got so excited over the game made it seem like he was a pro at it.

As they turned the corner to their street, Shizuki grabbed Julia's hand and started running towards his house, with a reluctant Julia trying to keep up. She never enjoyed running but the excitement could be seen quite easily in Shizuki's face. Julia shook her head and decided to just go with the flow, running right along with him. He paused only to unlock the gate and led her straight into the family room, where the game was kept.

"Make yourself comfortable, it takes only a minute to set up," Shizuki said as he ran about the room, grabbing the game from one corner, the dance pads from another and furiously opening the cabinets to the entertainment system, checking to make sure everything was connected.

"I'll go first, show you how to play and then you'll go, okay?" Shizuki, trying to make Julia happy.

"That's fine," Julia murmured, more amazed with all of the art around the family room.

Noticing how distracted Julia was, Shizuki paused the game and pointed out some of the artwork. "This piece actually isn't a famous one or anything. Mizuki and I bought a kit and decided to just make our own. Dad loved it so much he bought this fancy pedestal and set it up where we always hang out."

"It's beautiful. I always wished I had an older brother or sister to play with."

"Well you will always have me. What do you say we get back to the game?" Not really knowing what to say to Shizuki's comment, Julia nodded and sat down on the couch while Shizuki selected his song. It was "super star" by DJ Rich. Shizuki started to explain how the game worked, since he was playing on light mode, it was slightly easier for him. He typically played on standard mode, which was higher than light mode as he explained slowly to Julia. He also said that beginner was easier than light and heavy was harder than standard, but the hardest level in the game was challenge. He also mentioned that each song was rated differently for each of the levels and that she would catch on quickly, after all she was a fast learner.

Julia blushed at the compliment as Shizuki jumped off the pad and ran around the room. She didn't know what was going on at first, until she realized he had grabbed another dance pad.

"I'll play with you, this way you won't be quite so nervous," Shizuki paused a second before continuing. "Unless of course, you'd rather play by yourself," he said as he put his hand on top of his head.

"You're having so much fun, why don't you just keep playing?" Julia said, still just wanting to watch Shizuki play while she sat comfortably on the couch. This way she also wouldn't have a chance to embarrass herself.

"Well you choose a song. If you know any, it makes it a little easier," Shizuki suggested.

"How is Dirty Vegas's 'Days Go By?' Easy? Hard?"

"A learning experience. Just go for it. If nothing else, you'll hear a good song." The song started and Shizuki was right. It certainly was a learning experience and she did enjoy the song, but now she wanted to play more. After an hour of playing, with some breaks in between, Julia decided it was time to head home. Shizuki frowned, but couldn't hold in his laughter.

"I had a great time tonight. Thanks for playing with me. You're certainly more coordinated than Mizuki," Shizuki added.

"No, thank you. I'm glad I got to learn a new game, we'll have to do this again some time."

"You know you're welcome over here anytime," Shizuki as he walked out with Julia, following her towards the fence between their backyards.

"Thanks again," she said as she reached her arms around his neck and pecked his cheek lightly before dashing off in to the house, not quite sure what she had just done.

Shizuki was extremely confused now. What had just happened? Was tonight a date? He shook his head, as he slowly walked towards his bedroom. By normal standards, tonight could be considered a date. He had asked her out, she said yes, they went out, they went back to his house, wait. Did she get the wrong idea because he had invited her back to his house? He shook his head again, knowing that she had been to his house constantly right before Mizuki left and while they were younger. Did she see the whole night as a date? Again, Shizuki thought back and remembered that Julia had a boyfriend. But then why would she have kissed him? Granted, it was only a peck on the cheek, but a kiss is a kiss.

Julia's feet didn't stop as she ran into the house, quickly telling her parents she was home, and stopped only when she reached her bed. Flopping down on the bed, she buried her head in her pillow. Why had she kissed him? A hug could be construed as simply a friendly gesture, but a kiss? That was something intimate, between really close friends, family, and your lover. Well, he certainly wasn't her boyfriend, she already had one of those. He was just a close friend, one she had grown up with. That's all he was, right? Without reason, tears flowed down Julia's cheeks. She was confused. The feelings of friendship had developed into something more and she felt nothing but contempt for her boyfriend, considering he had treated her horribly. Was tonight a date? Even if Shizuki didn't think it was a date, he still treated her with more respect tonight than her boyfriend ever had. She really needed to talk to Matt before anything else happened.

As she rolled over on her bed, she got an idea. She hurriedly turned on her computer and began searching.

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A/N: Thank you for reading and please review.


	6. The Plan

Typing quickly, Julia found what she was looking for. Knowing that Mizuki's school was in Tokyo, she looked for another school that would accept exchange students. After glancing at several different websites, she found the perfect one. Saint Blossom even had a message board online where prospective applicants could talk to students and arrange a homestay, where they would live with the family during their stay in Japan. Researching further, she found the application was due in two days and then she would leave in one month to Japan. She printed out the application began to write the essay required for her application, as well as trying to figure out all of the difficult questions concerning health history and other tiny details. After yawning several times, she headed off to bed, reminding herself that she would have to beg her parents the next morning to let her go to Japan.

Breakfast was tense the next morning. Before her parents had even had their cups of coffee, Julia started mumbling about wanting to go to Japan as an exchange student, how badly she wanted to see Mizuki, where her parents needed to sign on the forms and that she only had two days to submit the application.

Her father, being the more rational parent, told her that they would have to think about it, just as her mother agreed to let Julia go to Japan. While her parents were arguing over whether or not to send her Japan, she knew they would eventually cave in and let her so she decided to go ahead and call the doctor, because a current physical and blood sample were needed to prove she didn't have any diseases. After an hour of her parents still debating whether or not she could go to Japan, Julia handed them the forms and said, "sign here please."

"Julia, it's not that we don't want you to go," her father began, but her mother interrupted.

"I fully support your decision to go. I know it's sudden, but I understand how much you miss Mizuki. We're also concerned about how much money this will end up costing us," her mother added.

"Here," Julia said, handing her parents a sheet paper, "I put a list of all of the expenses on here. I have money saved up in the bank, don't I? Especially from all of those performances lately, I should have enough to cover most of it. Plus, Grandmother had been putting money aside for me."

"That money from your grandmother is meant for college, not traveling to Japan on a whim," her father stated as he folded his paper up and put the coffee down.

"This isn't a whim! I've been researching this for a while, but I just found this opportunity. I've even talked to someone in Japan who has offered to let me stay out her house with her family if I am accepted to the program," Julia yelled to her parents from the stairs. She started to run up the stairs until her mother's hand pulled on her arm.

"Let's talk about this calmly," her mother's soothing voice added.

"No time. I have a doctor's appointment."

"Since when?"

"An hour ago. I need a physical in order to finish my application," Julia said with exasperation.

"You can go Julia. I see how badly you want this and how much your mother wants you to go," her father stated. Julia, excited that her parents had relented, ran over to her father, giving him a big hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you so much Daddy! You both just have to sign where I put the little tabs, and if you want, you can talk to the headmistress of the school and also the student who I'll be staying with. Her name is Rio Umeda and she's my age and we'd be attending the same classes," Julia rushed to say, mumbling most of what she had said.

"We'll talk more later. I believe you have a doctor's appointment?" her father said with a smile on his face.

"Get in the car, I just have to grab my purse," her mother said as she walked towards the kitchen, with Julia heading to the garage.

The ride to the doctor's was short, with her mother asking simple questions about the program and what other forms would need to be filled out, like visas and that sort of stuff. Once inside the office, the receptionist handed her mother several forms to fill out while Julia settled in a chair and flipped through several magazines. When her name was called, Julia headed in and sat down while the nurse took her blood pressure, drew some blood, and asked her to pee in a cup.

When the doctor came in shortly thereafter, he asked her to do some simple muscle tests, while also examining her eyes, ears, and mouth.

"Now say ahh," he instructed as he looked at her throat, making her tonsils were okay, since she had a problem with them when she was younger. "We'll call with the blood results in two days and then you can pick up the forms. Have a good day and don't forget to take a lollipop," the doctor added with a smile.

Julia grabbed a lollipop and walked with her mom out to the car. Her mom started driving, but in an opposite direction from their house.

"Where are we going?" Julia asked, confused since she thought they were only going to the doctor.

"I thought we'd go out to lunch and spend some quality mother-daughter time since if you get accepted, which I'm positive you will, you'll be leaving in a month. In which case, you will also need new clothes and some new suitcases."

Julia's face lit up when she heard she was going shopping. She loved to shop and then getting lunch out of it too? Today could not get any better, or so she thought, until she reached the mall. Walking in the entrance, she just happened to see her boyfriend leave the mall with a girl she did not know. She waved at him, for all she knew it could have been his cousin, but he ignored her.

"Who are you waving at?" her mother questioned.

"Oh, no one. Just someone I thought I recognized from school." Julia continued to window shop and wondered what the weather would be like in Japan. She turned around for a second, just to find her mother had disappeared on her. Retracing her steps, she found her mother in front of the fountain, talking to Shizuki.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Catching up on some reading and then meeting up with a friend for lunch. Ah, there she is now. It was good to see you Mrs. Thompson, Julia, but I must be off now. See you later," he said as he waved good bye and ran up to his friend to give her a hug.

Julia was so lost and confused. What was with guys and never explaining exactly who they were going to meet? Luckily, she wouldn't have to worry about it. She was going to Japan and was attending an all-girl's school, if she was accepted.


	7. Is that all I am?

For the next week, Julia waited patiently for her letter to come from the exchange program. To prepare herself, she watched lots of old Japanese gangster movies, slowly picking up parts of the language. Every day after school, she would run home, check the mail and also rush to talk to her new friend in Japan. Julia had yet to mention that she knew someone at Osaka High, or even mention anything about Osaka, not knowing quite how connected Saint Blossom and Osaka were.

A week after she had submitted her application, she received an e-mail from the program informing her that she had been accepted and that she would then need to complete a few more forms. Luckily her passport was in order or she would be stuck now. For the past week she had also been avoiding her boyfriend, again, and Shizuki. Now that she was leaving for Japan in three weeks, she would have to tell her boyfriend, possibly even breaking it off. And Shizuki? What would she tell him? "Hey Shizuki, I know this sounds stupid, but I think I'm falling in love with you and because I kissed you I thought I needed to leave the country and so I'm leaving for Japan in three week, see you in a couple of months?" Even as she thought about it, how could she tell him? Plus there was the fact that he had another girl, she had seen him hugging her while they were at the mall last weekend. First things first, she thought, calling her boyfriend and settling with him would be best.

As usual, he didn't pick up, so she left a voice mail telling him to call her back when he got a chance. Reading over the e-mail the program had sent her, she began to go through her closet, deciding what she would need to pack and what could be left behind. After all, she was only planning on going for a month, how much stuff would she really need? The school had sent a fairly detailed checklist and now she would also have to inform her school and figure out to keep up in her classes, since she'd be missing a whole month, but would be taking classes in Japan. She had decided to take the week before her adventure to Japan off from school, knowing how busy she'd be trying to finalize everything. Two weeks left of school, she breathed with a sigh of relief.

Needing a little fresh air, she headed outside to lounge on the hammock in the backyard. It was a gorgeous day out, birds chirping, sun shining, and a slight breeze. She hummed to herself as the hammock swayed back and forth.

Shizuki just happened to come outside as Julia had gotten up from the hammock and was heading inside.

"Julia! Where have you been this past week?" Shizuki asked, which caused Julia to freeze. She had no idea how to respond.

"Umm, well, I've been really busy lately," she said sheepishly. Shizuki opened the gate in the fence and walked over to her yard.

"That much is obvious, but it seems more like you've been avoiding me."

"Why would I do that?" Julia responded.

"You know, we should hang out again. I had a good time last week."

"Sorry, but I'm really busy. I'm leaving for Japan in three weeks." There, she had said it, she told him. Now it was just waiting for his reaction, which she had not expected. She expected him to be shocked. Instead, he was calm.

"What? For vacation? Or exchange program?" Shizuki questioned. It was her decision to leave and he knew part of the reason was because she missed Mizuki. He still missed Mizuki and he had already gone to visit her.

"An exchange program for about a month. I'll be really busy so I don't think we'll be able to hang out, sorry," Julia said, not really feeling sorry at all.

"Well, you know, if you need any pointers, I've been to Japan and I've seen Mizuki's school."

"You don't have to," she mumbled under her breath.

"Don't have to what? Care for you? Try and help out? Be friendly? What do you want from me?" Shizuki asked, knowing he had lost his temper but he had no idea what to think about Julia anymore. She was the one who kissed him, after all.

"Why should I have to explain myself to you? You're just my best friend's older brother," Julia spat out, before realizing what she had just said. That hurt him deeply, and she saw that in his face.

"Is that how you see me? As just Mizuki's older brother? I'm not even your friend anymore? Well I don't see why you're so angry with me."

At that moment, Julia's phone rang. When she looked at it, she saw it was her boyfriend Matt and knew she had to pick up the phone. Turning around she answered the phone and Shizuki could only hear what she was saying. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting to finish their argument.

"What? You cheated on me? How could you? No, I'm not going to listen to you. It's over. OVER!" she screamed into the phone, before melting to the ground. She hadn't even realized that Shizuki had come over and wrapped his arms around her. Tears streamed down her face. Even though she had wanted the relationship to end, she was still upset that he had cheated on her. She tried to push Shizuki away, but he was too strong for her. As much as she didn't want him there, she felt comfortable and safe in his arms.

"Do you still just think of me as Mizuki's older brother? If you do, I'll leave now," Shizuki said, even though he really didn't want too. He knew better than to force himself on anyone, especially when they were vulnerable. Now he knew why Julia had said some of those harsh things, but did she really mean all of it?

"Do you think of me as Mizuki's best friend?" she asked through her sniffling.

"I've never thought that of you."

"Who was that girl you went out to lunch with last week?" Julia asked, which surprised Shizuki. He didn't think anything of it at the time, but now realized that Julia was jealous. Why else would she ask him about that?

"My best friend's wife," he replied, emphasizing wife. "You know what you need?"

"What?" Julia asked getting up from her position on the ground and rubbing off the dirt and grass from her.

Shizuki stood up and proudly said, "A little something I called 'Death by Chocolate.' It's an amazing drink. It's hot chocolate, with a little chocolate syrup, Hershey's Kisses, and a little bit of Hershey's Hugs for a little bit of sweetness. White chocolate's always sweeter."

"Shizuki," Julia started.

"Yes?"

"Thank you," she whispered as he wrapped his arm around her and walked her towards his house.


	8. Not So Simple

"_If only I could make you mine," _Julia thought while she drank what Shizuki called 'Death by Chocolate.' Without ever even asking if she wanted him there or not, he just sat there as she poured her soul out to him. Why she was so upset over losing Matt, who had been her first serious boyfriend of over a year and he had thrown it all away for some random fling? Sure she had boyfriends in middle school, but those didn't really count.

As she babbled on about missing Mizuki and not really having any one to talk about something like, Shizuki smiled, knowing how much his presence meant to the poor girl. She was obviously hysterical about losing her boyfriend so suddenly and he wished he could take all of her pain away. At the same time, he didn't want to just be a rebound and didn't want to do anything rash. He cursed himself silently for being the rational one, but knew someone had to be rational and it usually wasn't the one crying over her now ex-boyfriend who had cheated.

Julia asked if he minded watching a movie with her, as having someone around helped when she fell asleep. Falling asleep in the recliner was a habit she had picked up recently while her parents argued upstairs about her leaving for Japan. Shizuki agreed, adding that they should watch a comedy, voicing that Monty Python and the Holy Grail was always a classic movie that one could fall asleep in the middle of and not really miss too much.

Julia agreed and the two of them settled into the family room, with Julia lying back on the recliner and Shizuki sitting down on the loveseat. About 45 minutes into the movie, Julia was no closer to falling asleep, but Shizuki obviously was in a deep sleep as little snores could be heard coming from his direction.

Gently shaking Shizuki awake, Julia wondered what she would do now. Before she could say anything Shizuki headed towards the back door. Not wanting him to leave without her saying anything, she followed quickly.

"Thank you for everything Shizuki," Julia whispered.

"Seriously Julia, if you need anything, ever, please don't hesitate," Shizuki added.

"I know, really," Julia responded before standing on her toes and kissing Shizuki on the cheek, not wanting to overstep her bounds.

"G'night Julia," Shizuki said in one breath, since he now wanted to leave faster than before. What had that kiss meant? Just friends? More than friends?

"_If only I could make her mine,"_ Shizuki thought as he headed across the yard inside. Knowing she was leaving soon made this situation more complicated than it already was.


End file.
